Common Sense Media Review
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tense, scary sci-fi thriller reminiscent of genre classics.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Nightflyers
What's the Story?
In NIGHTFLYERS, the Earth is dying, and astrophysicist Karl O'Branin (Eoin Mackin) believes that meeting alien life forms will give him the keys to humanity's survival. He leaves his wife and daughter behind in order to travel through space with Captain Roy Eris (David Ajala) and his crew aboard the Nightflyer. O'Branin also brings along an aggressive, telepathic kid named Thale (Sam Strike) and his psychiatrist, Dr. Agatha Matheson (Gretchen Mol), believing them essential to communicating with extraterrestrial life. During launch, things begin to go wrong for the crew of the Nightflyer, putting everyone's lives in danger, and sewing mistrust among them. As strange events continue to happen, they wonder if Thale is responsible, or if it could be someone (or something) else.
Is It Any Good?
A group of people being chased by an unknowable assailant -- it's one of those rare premises that's always satisfying, and often terrifying. George R. R. Martin's take on that premise recalls two masterpieces of that particular subgenre, Ridley Scott's Alien and John Carpenter's The Thing, and references other sci-fi classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey along the way. It's possible that Nightflyers is placing itself among such landmarks in order to set up expectations for a typical sci-fi thriller and then upending them, the way that Martin's Game of Thrones uses fantasy cliches and archetypes and then completely undermines them. But even if it doesn't end up reaching the subversive highs of that other Martin-based TV show, this is still a creatively satisfying (and occasionally terrifying) adaptation.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the future. Is Nightflyers a plausible depiction of how the future might look? What are the differences between this world and our current one?
Why do you think many TV shows are set in enclosed environments (boats, spaceships, etc.)? What possibilities do these settings create?
TV Details
- Premiere date : December 2, 2018
- Cast : Gretchen Mol , Eoin Macken , David Ajala
- Network : Syfy
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , STEM
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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